Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones said rookie Justin Hardy impressed him Sunday in his professional debut.
Hardy, a fourth-round draft pick out of East Carolina, played in his first game as a Falcon on Sunday against Tampa Bay, recording two catches for 21 yards.
“He did an amazing job for us,” Jones said, citing Hardy’s ball security. “Just coming back and attacking the football and protecting it as well. A couple of us let the ball go.”
Hardy began his collegiate career as a walk-on and played 63 games, recording records in receptions (387), receiving yards (4,541) and touchdowns (35) in his four seasons.
Falcons coach Dan Quinn said he and the coaching staff also were encouraged by Hardy’s ball security Sunday.
“When you catch it in traffic, people are ripping and going for it, and he just held tight as could be on the football,” Quinn said. “It was great to see him get some catches.”
Quinn said he was pleased with Hardy’s ability to operate in zone and man-to-man coverage during his first few snaps he spent on the field.
Quinn said that because of the Falcons’ talent and depth at wide receivers, Hardy hadn’t seen any playing time before Sunday.
“Maybe some of the opportunities (haven’t) come his way (before now),” Quinn said. “We always have faith in him.”
In his time at East Carolina, Hardy caught more passes than any other player in FBS history, contributing to three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said he was pleased with how Hardy executed during his time on the field against the Buccaneers.
“He had like 50 plays for his first NFL game,” Shanahan said. “I thought he did a very good job, and hopefully he’ll get better again this week.”
Jones said as the Falcons’ move deeper into their season, other wide receivers need to be prepared to make plays when their numbers are called. He said like Hardy, playmakers such as Jacob Tamme and Roddy White have been influential in moving the ball down the field.
“Everybody’s just going their job right now,” Jones said.“What we need to do is just play Falcons football.”
Jones said one of the big improvements needed on offense as a whole is consistency from practice to games.
“(Quinn) always challenges us to do all the little things,” Jones said. “The last few weeks, we haven’t been consistent. It starts with us. We have to get back to doing what we’re doing and starting in practice fast and having fun in practice and finishing and carrying it into the game.”
One of the “little things” Jones said the Falcons must clean up is the turnovers on offense.
Jones said the energy and effort during preparation and on the field hasn’t changed despite 12 offensive turnovers in the past four games.
“For those little things (like) turnovers, they cause you to lose or win a game,” Jones said. “We just have to clean them up but other than that, we still have a great football team, we just have to continue to get better.”
Jones said against the 49ers, he and the Falcons’ offense are prepared to face the great talent of a fast, physical defense.
“They’re pretty much a zone team, but we really don’t know what we’re going to get,” Jones said. “Every week, people switch things up on us and give us a different look.”
Jones said he and the offense have to be prepared for “anything and everything” when traveling to Santa Clara and mentally move past their loss to Tampa Bay last weekend.
“We approach every game the same. I just want to go out there and win,” Jones said. “It doesn’t matter about the bye week. Our preparation has to stay the same.”
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